Food globalisation in prehistory

Within the crop record of prehistoric Europe record can be found a few species whose botanical roots can be traced to China. Principal among these are the Asian millets, which appear in the west well before cultural contact is better charted by metalwork and other artefacts. In the absence of such evidence, we can instead use methods of archaeological science, including botany, genetics and palaeodietary studies, to understand better this early movement of crops.

This lecture will present the results of a combination of these methods, applied across Eurasia, within the Food Globalisation in Prehistory project.

About the speaker:
Martin Jones is George Pitt-Rivers Professor of Archaeological Science, and Vice-Master of Darwin College, both at the University of Cambridge, and Honorary Professor at Chifeng University, Neimenggu, China. His recent books include The Molecule Hunt: Archaeology and the Search for Ancient DNA, and Feast: Why Humans Share Food.